Report From Parliament Hill

Eric Melillo, MP, Kenora Riding

Dear Constituents

This week Common Sense Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre toured through northern Ontario. I joined him for a tour of West Fraser Barwick Mill and Manitou Forest Products. Thank you to the workers for showing us their operations. Both businesses employ workers who earn powerful paycheques. Common Sense Conservatives will cut taxes so they bring home more of each dollar they earn for decades to come.
I was happy to host a community BBQ in Dryden. It was great to see so many residents stop by to say hello, chat, and enjoy a hamburger. Thank you to everyone who attended. I look forward to hosting another free community event in Kenora later this month. 
I ended the week in Sioux Lookout to attend the Sioux Lookout Chamber of Commerce’s 42nd Annual Home, Craft, and Trade Show and the Sioux Lookout Blueberry Festival. I appreciated the opportunity to speak at the Blueberry Festival’s opening ceremonies.
NDP-Liberal Government Fails to Support First Nations Policing
I was disappointed to learn that two First Nations will no longer receive policing services from Treaty Three Police. After 9 years of this NDP-Liberal government, First Nations are not receiving services that meet the needs of their communities.
Instead of working to ensure there are adequate services on First Nations, the government has chosen to continue the status quo of dragging their feet and ignoring the problem. 
In fact, Treaty Three Police, Anishinabek Police Service, and the United Chiefs & Councils of Manitoulin Anishnaabe Police Service had to take the federal government to court last year to seek relief from discriminatory funding conditions that non-Indigenous police services do not have, such as creating specialized services, and seek additional funding because the government failed to negotiate in good faith with them. 
In a report published earlier this year, the Auditor General of Canada found that a lack of good-faith negotiations with First Nation police services is the norm for this NDP-Liberal government. To make matters worse, she also found they were at risk of leaving $45 million allocated for First Nations policing on the table last fiscal year.
The federal government cannot continue to ignore policing services on First Nations and must come to the table. I will continue to advocate to the government that they need to take this issue seriously and ensure there are adequate policing services in every community. Only Common Sense Conservatives will take action to bring home safe streets.
Working for You 
If you’re planning to be in Ottawa and are interested in attending Question Period or taking a tour of Parliament, please let me know and my office can help reserve Question Period and tour tickets. 
As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, please call me at 807-223-2182 (Dryden) or 807-468-2170 (Kenora) or email me at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Eric Melillo
Member of Parliament
Kenora Riding